H.B. 4

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PUBLIC SAFETY - MISSING PERSONS CENTER
2 1997 GENERAL SESSION
3 STATE OF UTAH
4 Sponsor: Keele Johnson
5 AN ACT RELATING TO PUBLIC SAFETY; EXPANDING CERTAIN DUTIES OF THE LAW
6 ENFORCEMENT AND TECHNICAL SERVICES DIVISION TO INCLUDE SERVICES
7 RELATED TO ALL MISSING PERSONS; AMENDING DEFINITIONS; AMENDING
8 CERTAIN PROCEDURES RELATED TO MISSING CHILDREN; MAKING TECHNICAL
9 CHANGES; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
10 This act affects sections of Utah Code Annotated 1953 as follows:
11 AMENDS:
12 26-2-27, as last amended by Chapter 202, Laws of Utah 1995
13 53-5-202, as last amended by Chapter 295, Laws of Utah 1995
14 53-5-203, as renumbered and amended by Chapter 234, Laws of Utah 1993
15 53-5-204, as renumbered and amended by Chapter 234, Laws of Utah 1993
16 53-5-205, as enacted by Chapter 234, Laws of Utah 1993
17 53A-11-501, as last amended by Chapter 234, Laws of Utah 1993
18 Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
19 Section 1. Section 26-2-27 is amended to read:
20 26-2-27. Identifying birth certificates of missing persons -- Procedures.
21 (1) As used in this section:
22 (a) "Division" means the Law Enforcement and Technical Services Division, Department
23 of Public Safety.
24 (b) "Missing child" means a person younger than 18 years of age who [has been] is
25 missing [for at least 48 hours] from his home environment or a temporary placement facility for
26 any reason, and whose whereabouts cannot be determined by the person responsible for the child's
27 care.

1 (c) "Missing person" means a person who is missing from his home environment and is:
2 (i) physically or mentally disabled;
3 (ii) missing under circumstances that indicate that they are endangered, missing
4 involuntarily, or a victim of a catastrophe; or
5 (iii) a missing child.
6 (2) (a) In accordance with Section 53-5-204, upon the state registrar's notification by the
7 division that a [child] person who was born in this state is missing, the state and local registrars
8 shall flag the registered birth certificate of that [child] person so that when a copy of the registered
9 birth certificate or information regarding the birth record is requested, the state and local registrars
10 are alerted to the fact the registered birth certificate is that of a missing [child] person.
11 (b) Upon notification by the division the missing [child] person has been recovered, the
12 state and local registrars shall remove the flag from that [child's] person's registered birth
13 certificate.
14 [(c) The state and local registrars shall remove any remaining flag from the registered birth
15 certificate when a missing child becomes 18 years of age.]
16 (3) The state and local registrars may not provide a copy of a registered birth certificate
17 of any person whose record is flagged under Subsection (2), except as approved by the division.
18 (4) (a) When a copy of the registered birth certificate of a [child] person whose record has
19 been flagged is requested in person, the state or local registrar shall require that person to complete
20 a form supplying his name, address, telephone number, and relationship to the missing [child]
21 person, and the name and birth date of the missing [child] person.
22 (b) The state or local registrar shall inform the requester that a copy of the registered birth
23 certificate will be mailed to him.
24 (c) The state or local registrar shall note the physical description of the person making the
25 request, and shall immediately notify the division of the request and the information obtained
26 pursuant to this subsection.
27 (5) When a copy of the registered birth certificate of a [child] person whose record has
28 been flagged is requested in writing, the state or local registrar or his personnel shall immediately
29 notify the division, and provide it with a copy of the written request.
30 Section 2. Section 53-5-202 is amended to read:
31 53-5-202. Definitions.

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1 As used in this part:
2 (1) "Administration of criminal justice" means performance of any of the following:
3 detection, apprehension, detention, pretrial release, posttrial release, prosecution, adjudication,
4 correctional supervision, or rehabilitation of accused persons or criminal offenders.
5 (2) "Conviction record" means criminal history information indicating a record of a
6 criminal charge which has led to a declaration of guilt of an offense.
7 (3) "Criminal history record information" means information on individuals consisting of
8 identifiable descriptions and notations of:
9 (a) arrests, detentions, indictments, informations, or other formal criminal charges, and any
10 disposition arising from any of them; and
11 (b) sentencing, correctional supervision, and release.
12 (4) "Criminal justice agency" means courts or a government agency or subdivision of a
13 government agency that administers criminal justice under a statute, executive order, or local
14 ordinance and that allocates greater than 50% of its annual budget to the administration of criminal
15 justice.
16 (5) "Executive order" means an order of the president of the United States or the chief
17 executive of a state that has the force of law and that is published in a manner permitting regular
18 public access to it.
19 (6) "Missing child" means any person under the age of 18 years who is missing from his
20 or her home environment or a temporary placement facility for any reason and whose location
21 cannot be determined by the person responsible for the child's care.
22 (7) "Missing person" has the same meaning as provided in Section 26-2-27.
23 [(7)] (8) "Qualifying entity" means a business, organization, or a governmental entity
24 which employs persons who deal with:
25 (a) national security interests;
26 (b) care, custody, or control of children;
27 (c) fiduciary trust over money; or
28 (d) health care to children or vulnerable adults.
29 Section 3. Section 53-5-203 is amended to read:
30 53-5-203. Criminal investigation -- Duties of division.
31 The division shall:

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1 (1) procure and file information relating to identification and activities of persons who:
2 (a) are fugitives from justice;
3 (b) are wanted or missing;
4 (c) have been arrested for or convicted of a crime under the laws of any state or nation; and
5 (d) are believed to be involved in racketeering, organized crime, or a dangerous offense;
6 (2) establish a statewide uniform crime reporting system that shall include:
7 (a) statistics concerning general categories of criminal activities;
8 (b) statistics concerning crimes that exhibit evidence of prejudice based on race, religion,
9 ancestry, national origin, ethnicity, or other categories that the division finds appropriate; and
10 (c) other statistics as required by the Federal Bureau of Investigation;
11 (3) make a complete and systematic record and index of the information obtained under
12 this part;
13 (4) subject to the restrictions in this part, establish policy concerning the use and
14 dissemination of data obtained under this part;
15 (5) publish an annual report concerning the extent, fluctuation, distribution, and nature of
16 crime in Utah;
17 (6) establish a statewide central register for [children] the identification and location of
18 missing persons, which may include:
19 (a) identifying data including fingerprints of each [child whose legal parent or guardian
20 voluntarily submits the information to the register] missing person;
21 (b) identifying data of any [child] missing person who is reported as missing [by the
22 person responsible for the child's care] to a law enforcement agency having jurisdiction;
23 (c) dates and circumstances of any persons requesting or receiving information from the
24 register; and
25 (d) any other information, including blood types and photographs found necessary in
26 furthering the purposes of this part;
27 (7) publish a quarterly directory of missing persons for distribution to persons or entities
28 likely to be instrumental in the identification and location of missing persons;
29 (8) list the name of every missing child with the appropriate nationally maintained missing
30 children lists;
31 (9) establish and operate a 24-hour communication network for reports of missing persons

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1 and reports of sightings of missing persons;
2 (10) coordinate with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and other
3 agencies to facilitate the identification and location of missing persons and the identification of
4 unidentified persons and bodies;
5 [(7)] (11) receive information regarding missing [children] persons, as provided in
6 [Section] Sections 26-2-27 and 53A-11-502, and stolen vehicles, vessels, and outboard motors,
7 as provided in Section 41-1a-1401;
8 [(8)] (12) adopt systems of identification, including the fingerprint system, to be used by
9 the division to facilitate law enforcement; and
10 [(9)] (13) assign a distinguishing number or mark of identification to any pistol or
11 revolver, as provided in Section 76-10-520.
12 Section 4. Section 53-5-204 is amended to read:
13 53-5-204. Missing persons -- Reports -- Notification.
14 (1) Each law enforcement agency that is investigating the report of a missing [child]
15 person shall provide information regarding that report to the division. The report shall include
16 descriptive information and the date and location of the last-known contact with the missing
17 person.
18 (2) The division shall notify the state registrar of Vital Statistics and the FBI National
19 Crime Information Center of all missing [children] persons reported in accordance with Subsection
20 (1) and shall provide the state registrar with information concerning the identity of those missing
21 [children] persons.
22 (3) If the division has reason to believe that a missing [child] person reported in
23 accordance with Subsection (1) has been enrolled in a specific school in this state, the division
24 shall also notify the last-known school of that report.
25 (4) Upon learning of the recovery of a missing [child] person, the division shall notify the
26 state registrar and any school that it has previously informed of the [child's] person's
27 disappearance.
28 (5) The division shall, by rule, determine the manner and form of reports, notices, and
29 information required by this section.
30 (6) Upon notification by the state registrar or school personnel that a request for a birth
31 certificate, school record, or other information concerning a missing [child] person has been made,

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1 or that an investigation is needed in accordance with Section 53A-11-503, the division shall
2 immediately notify the local law enforcement authority.
3 Section 5. Section 53-5-205 is amended to read:
4 53-5-205. Missing person records -- Confidentiality -- Availability.
5 Inquiries made regarding missing [children] persons are confidential and are available only
6 to:
7 (1) a law enforcement agency investigating a report of a missing [child] person;
8 (2) an agency having the responsibility or authority to care for, treat, or supervise a [child]
9 person who is the subject of a placement in temporary or substitute care or an adoption proceeding;
10 (3) a court, upon a finding that access to the records may be necessary for the
11 determination of an issue before it;
12 (4) the office of the public prosecutor or its deputies;
13 (5) any person engaged in bona fide research when approved by the director of the
14 division, excluding names and addresses; and
15 (6) entities or persons authorized to receive the information in accordance with Section
16 53-5-204.
17 Section 6. Section 53A-11-501 is amended to read:
18 53A-11-501. Definitions.
19 As used in this chapter:
20 (1) "Division" means the Law Enforcement and Technical Services Division of the
21 Department of Public Safety.
22 (2) "Missing child" [means a person under the age of 18 who is the subject of a custody
23 dispute, who has been missing for at least 48 hours from his home environment or a temporary
24 placement facility and whose whereabouts cannot be determined by the person responsible for the
25 child's care] has the same meaning as provided in Section 26-2-27.
26 (3) "State registrar" means the State Registrar of Vital Statistics within the Department of
27 Health.
28 Section 7. Effective date.
29 This act takes effect on July 1, 1997.


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Legislative Review Note
as of 10-2-96 8:45 AM

A limited legal review of this bill raises no obvious constitutional or statutory concerns.

Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel

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